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WNTE
WNTE is the NBC affiliated station serving Nashville, TN, and the greater Nashville area. Broadcasting on channel 9, WNTE was owned and operated by Lady Luck Communications until they traded the station to Krueger Broadcasting in exchange for KTSA in Tulsa and KRVJ in Brownsville, TX. WNTE started broadcasting on May 3, 1950 and became an NBC affiliate. WNTE had CBS as a secondary affiliate until WSIX signed on in 1954 and became a CBS affiliate. WNTE was also an ABC secondary affiliate until WNAM signed on in 1972. Being owned by the Newspaper Paper Corporation, WNTE enjoyed a 17-year winning streak (from 1955-72) as the top newscast in Nashville. However, since 2009, the newscast has finished a distant third in the news race in Nashville. In addition to running the NBC schedule, WNTE also airs syndicated programming, including, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Steve Harvey, and Match Game. WNTE carries Sunday Night Football and also all Tennessee Titans preseason games and coaches shows. It was sold to Galaxy Broadcasting on June 23, 2016. Galaxy subsequently sold WNTE to Septic Communications. Septic sold WNTE to Berfield/Willis Broadcast Corporation on June 3, 2017. History WNTE was launched on May 3, 1950 by Silliman Evans, Sr., founder of the Newspaper Paper Corporation, which also owned the local newspaper The Tennessean. ''From launch, WNTE became an NBC affiliate. WNTE was a CBS secondary affiliate until WSIX signed on in 1954 and they were an ABC secondary affiliate until WNAM signed on in 1972. From 1955-72, WNTE enjoyed a 17-year winning streak as the top newscast in Nashville, which was became they shared the same news source with ''The Tennessean. In 1972, as CBS' ratings started rising to the top, NBC ratings started falling. As a result, WSIX finally broke the streak and became the top newscast in Nashville. WNTE lost the ABC affiliation when WNAM signed on and became a CBS affiliate. As NBC's ratings were falling, so was WNTE's. And by 1980, WNTE found themselves near the bottom of the market. In 1980, the Newspaper Paper Corporation put WNTE on the market, and Moon Broadcasting bought the station. From 1980-85, the station of marred with a high turnover rate as the newscast received the lowest ratings in the station's history. Finally in 1985, as NBC was becoming the no. 1 rated network on television, WNTE's ratings started picking up, and by 1989, WNTE was back at the spot where they lost in 1972: the top newscast in Nashville. WNTE remained the top newscast until 2000 when once again, WSIX became the top newscast in Nashville. WNTE and WSIX traded spots from 2000-2004, but after that, WSIX became no. 1 for good. WNTE's newscast remained respectable until The Jay Leno Show debuted in 2009. Since then, WNTE has finished no higher than third in the market. In 2010, WNTE had a new owner when Lady Luck Communications bought the station. On December 30, 2015, Lady Luck Communications traded WNTE for KTSA in Tulsa and KRVJ in Brownsville. In 2017, WNTE was sold to Septic Communications. On June 3, 2017, WNTE was sold by Septic Communications to Berfield/Willis Broadcast Corporation, owners of YesNet O&O WELG (channel 10). Newscast Newschannel 9 enjoyed a 17-year winning streak as the top newscast in the market. After going through a very downward period, Newschannel 9 once again became the no. 1 rated newscast in 1989, and they stayed there untill 2000 when WSIX overtook it. From 2000-04, WNTE and WSIX traded spots for the top spot (WNTE winning it in 2001, 2002 and 2003). However, since 2009, WNTE's newscast has finished no higher than 3rd. Programming Schedule Category:Channel 9 Category:Nashville Category:Tennessee Category:NBC affiliated stations Category:Television channels and stations established in 1950 Category:Berfield/Willis Broadcast Corporation